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Suburban Oval
Bounded by Gravesend (now McDonald) Avenue, Avenue D (now Ditmas Avenue), East 2nd St. and Cortelyou Rd. Also known as Parkville Field and Parkville Oval (II), the Kensington Grounds, and Newkirk Oval. Suburban Oval saw various high school games, usually as home to Manual Training, and also featured the Gibson nine, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit League, and the Suburban Athletic Association, a local semipro squad, yet another for which Ernie Lindemann pitched at one time. The Parkville Field Club, Newkirk Athletic Club, and Kensington Athletic Club also called this field home in various years between 1900 and 1914. Football and soccer matches were also played here. New grandstands were completed at Suburban Oval in time for the Suburbans to play Brighton and the New York Fire Department in a double header in April, 1911. Regular visitors for the Suburbans included the the Cuban Giants, the Wilmingtons, and the Ironsides of New Jersey, whose "never say die spirit" - shown in an eleven inning win over Suburban in 1914 - won the local crowd over. On August 4, 1912, the Suburbans gave up three runs in the first inning to the Murray Hills, but pitcher Eschen dug in thereafter, allowing just one more run and striking out fifteen. The Suburban batters constantly got on base against Murray Hills pitcher McKenna, piling up 17 hits, but were often left stranded. Finally the home team struck back to tie the score after six innings, and pushed across a run in the tenth for a famous victory. Right fielder Roggy scored twice, and made four safe hits. On July 20, 1913, the Lancasters visited and held the Suburbans to a sixteen inning tie, 3 to 3, with no runs scored after the seventh. Wilson struck out 17 for the Suburbans, and Hanley 13 for the Lancasters. The major leagues also form a part in Suburban Oval's history. On October 6, 1912, the Superbas visited the Suburbans for an exhibition match. No less than Nap Rucker took the mound for the National Leaguers, but he left after 5 innings with the Suburbans' pitcher Tobin holding a 3-2 lead. Defense eventually failed the semipros, however, and the Superbas took a hard fought 8 to 3 victory. Casey Stengel went 3 for 5 and scored twice for the visitors. On September 28, 1913, the Superbas visited again, and a mixed team of stars and rookies took a 7 to 2 win behind a complete game from Bill Wagner. In December, 1913, Suburban Oval was one of several semipro fields briefly mentioned in connection with the coming Federal League's Brooklyn franchise, but Washington Park soon trumped all other venues. Like most of the larger ballparks in Brooklyn, Suburban Oval saw its share of police attention on Sundays. On May 17, 1914, more than 2,000 fans arrived for a game bearing red bound copies of the Suburban, a magazine with pictures and profiles of the Suburban A.A. players, which was sold for 25c at three nearby stationery stores. Police Inspector Hughes was told at the gates that the magazine was bought strictly "for love of the team" and had no bearing on admission for the ball game. He put this to the test by ordering the umpire to announce that there would be no game, and sparked a riot. Around $60 was refunded by the stationers before they were able to close their shops, then the crowd traded thrown rocks for nightstick blows from the police for another hour before dispersing, "leaving the roadway red with copies of the Suburban On May 23, 1914, Bay Ridge High defeated Eastern District 23 to 4, in just six innings. Ten runs crossed for Bay Ridge in the second inning, who made 18 hits in all, being ably assisted by Eastern District's 11 errors and an additional six bases on balls. The Eagle summed up the game briefly: one of the worst ball games seen on a scholastic diamond in years. On August 5 of that year, the Franklin Avenue and Twenty-third Street depots played a dramatic B.R.T. League match at Suburban Oval. The Franklins led 10 to 3 coming into the ninth inning, but the Twenty-thirds rallied for 6 runs before finally bowing, 10 to 9. In 1916, the Eagle announced that Manual had lost the lease on Suburban Oval, which was to be cut up into building lots, but the field remained intact, if inactive, well into the 1920s. In researching the site of this ballpark, from local maps and aerial surveys, the dimensions down the right field line could not have been more than 270 feet. With the introduction of the live ball, and the change in Major League rules against the spitball, this was the dawn of the age of the power hitter, and Suburban Oval would not have been a good site for professional baseball play into the 1920s anyway.